Call of Duty players have been talking with speculation about using artificial intelligence to create some in-game assets. Activision formally acknowledged these suspicions recently, shedding light on its practices after a policy update from Steam made such disclosures necessary.
For months, players have pointed out evidence of generative AI involvement, like a rather peculiar festive calling card featuring a ‘zombified’ Santa Claus that displayed an unusual number of fingers. This oddity only fueled discussions around whether or not Activision had resorted to using AI tools for asset creation.
Recent changes to Steam’s policies require developers to explicitly state whether they use generative AI in any part of game development. This new rule stems from directives the United States Copyright Office issued, which clarified that AI-generated content does not fall under traditional copyright provisions.
If you take a peek at the Steam page for Black Ops 6, you’ll find the following statement:
Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in-game assets.
This revelation has left many fans feeling conflicted. While it’s clear that Call of Duty‘s production is one of the largest collaborative efforts in gaming, with thousands laboring on various projects, it raises eyebrows when teams lean towards generative AI for creating artwork traditionally crafted by artists.
The community response has been mixed; much of the generated content has drawn criticism and has even been labeled as ‘AI slop’ by dedicated followers who expect high-quality output from such an iconic franchise. It’s surprising, considering this isn’t Activision’s first venture into using technology within Call of Duty, earlier this year, it was announced that AI and machine learning would be employed to moderate voice and text chat during gameplay. However, this news didn’t evoke quite the same backlash as employing generative AI for artistic purposes.
